SwordXDragon
by Joshua's Tall Tales
Summary: "He spent two years a slave to the whims of a madman, now one act of kindness and this Red Haired little TART thinks she owns him? Oh dear, it's time to show her who she's dealing with." 5-6 part short story. Somewhat dark Kirito, no bashing despite description. Rated T for safety
1. Chapter 1 Capture

Sword Art X Dragon

 **He spent two years a slave to the whims of a madman, now one act of kindness and this Red Headed little** _ **tart**_ **thinks she owns him? Well that certainly won't do.**

Chapter 1 Capture

' _Hey hon, can you make sure to pick_

 _up some tempura scraps from the grocers on_

 _the way home from your parent's?_

 _Home Made Takoyaki tonight. \"o"/'_

A black haired teenager made his way home with a grocery bag in hand and an extra spring to his step; homemade anything from the woman he loved was always worth the extra spring in his step. Despite being the vastly superior cook of the two of them, his love ( _savior, partner, angel)_ had far too busy a schedule to prepare more than some ( _delicious_ ) sandwiches and bentos for lunch in the morning for the two of them.

It wasn't like he was a slouch or anything in the kitchen, since his own schedule was far more flexible what with him working from home on a computer 4 days of his business week. As it was, he'd learned to cook over a raw open flame _(for god sakes boy, gut the fish_ ), seasonings being a myth and as such 90% of their diet was either plain grilled meats or raw fruits and vegetables.

There _was_ also a slightly less… innocent… reason for the spring in his step; the fact that she was cooking at all meant something had happened and she would have a rare day off tomorrow, which meant he would probably skip his morning classes and they could, ahem, _enjoy_ some quality time together tonight.

Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya was walking on air, stopping to say hello to passerby's in an uncharacteristic show of friendliness, helping old ladies with their bags, and whistling a happy tune all the way. He'd gotten some sleazy grins from some old pervs and deadpanned eyes from some older woman who clearly knew what had put him in this mood; though he did notice a couple of older couples share amused moon eyed looks, so that was cool.

Several young women who attended his school had stopped and stared at him with dazed expressions on their faces, which was kind of rude- he wasn't _that_ antisocial. It was mostly them who didn't approach him, merely staying back and huddling and whispering whatever rumors about 'Kuoh's Dark Prince' he'd heard himself called a few times. The males of the school were more open about their dislike to him, glaring and calling him a pretty boy bastard.

He honestly didn't know what he'd done to garner such hate from his host school; he simply tried to act normal and not be too much of an inconvenience.

' _Not that I know what normal is anymore_ ' he thought to himself darkly, what was normal anyway? Was it not checking the entrances and exits of every room you walked in on, was it not having a knife or two on you at all times, certainly it must be swallowing your food with quick but cherishing movements because you didn't know when you'd get the chance to next, wasn't it?

There was just something off about Kazuto Kirigaya and everyone could sense it, so he did his best to stay out of the way of the people he'd have no idea how to interact with if they did talk to him.

It reminded him of… lonelier times.

 _Hate filled eyes watching him, questioning his presence, accusing_

 _Whispers behind his back, just audible enough-deliberately so- for him to hear_

 _Silent camps where there should be 5 more breaths, a song in a crystal, alone_

He abruptly shook his head brushing the thoughts away, tonight of all nights was not the time to be weighed down by such negatives, ' _It's over Kirigaya don't let memories of hell get you down when you have heaven waiting for you at home.'_

His good mood restored Kirito made a slight detour through the park on his track home, it'd be a late dinner anyway and chances were his love wouldn't be home for a while at least. After his brief dark spell just now he could bear to take a few extra minutes clearing his head in the cool evening breeze rather than arrive at an empty home and letting the silence drive his mood down again.

Kirito was striding along at a steady enough pace, enjoying the night air ( _not faked, so good on the_ skin) humming a small song to himself; unconsciously he'd picked up on _that_ tune ( _Thank you. And goodbye_ ), man he was more effected than he'd thought if he was humming that old so-

"What the hell?" he questioned out loud

Right in front of him was the statue at the front of the park, the statue that he'd passed two minutes ago.

Frowning he was half way to raising his hand in the air to check his map when he froze and chastised himself.

' _Your IRL right now dummy, stop before you lose your sense of reality'_ at least that was what Sugu had said would happened to him after he scared her those first few weeks when everyone was still adjusting; he'd thrown a kitchen knife to pin a fly that was bothering them at the dinner table.

' _Pinned the damn thing though'_

The silently horrified looks on his parents' ( _not real, empty-STOP IT)_ faces that his mother had tried to desperately hide had done it for him. Don't bring work home, it gave Sugu at least som-

"What the hell?!" he stopped again, there right in front of him was the same damn statue he'd just passed not even _one_ minute ago.

Had he accidently got so caught up in his thoughts and turned around, or worse, was Suguha right? Was his tenuous grasp on reality already slipping and at some point he'd entered a game reality and just couldn't remember?

Taking a moment to observe his surroundings he saw a couple only few yards away from him, obviously wrapped around each other, making their way to his direction. He stepped out of there way and quietly watched them walk past him not even noticing his presence; not ten seconds later he watched as they inexplicably turned around and start walking back without rhyme or reason before stopping looking up at their surroundings before shrugging and continuing on their way.

Kirito's eyes narrowed in suspicion; at this point anyone else as shown by his observational experiment of the lovey dovey couple would give up and go on their way. Someone as healthily ( _rightfully, saw the trap, fangs in the_ dark) paranoid as him may have been reduced to staring at the invisible barrier like an idiot, until it went away.

But Kirito was Kirito, a damn good tactician, but a hardcore survivor, with an inability to let anything he didn't understand be let alone until he felt reasonably sure he could trust it ( _or it was dead_ ).

Stooping down he picked up a rock and chucked it as hard as he could, quickly stepping to the side and placing a hand to the hidden knife strapped to his back, in case it bounced back. The rock hit a tree a few feet ahead of where the lovey dovey couple (and presumably him) turned around.

' _Physical objects can get through, so it was a mental thing only. Some kind of user attention distraction progr-'_ he abruptly cut himself off from that line of thought, this wasn't a game.

Then again since when were games ever just games for him

He took a second look at the distances between him and the turn off point, The L.V.D. couple hadn't gone anywhere near as far as him, and he'd been distracted by his own morbid thoughts. Did that mean if he wasn't paying express attention to where he was going it wouldn't work, huh loophole.

' _If focusing on the road in front of me isn't allowed'_ he thought whipping out his phone, ' _then let's give my head something else to focus on'_

Quickly turning to GPS, Kirito zoomed in as close as possible with satellite imaging his location; not that it did much other than show a dot on his general position but for now it would do as a first experiment.

Focusing with all his might on the tiny dot he began walking and praying he wouldn't walk himself into oncoming traffic in the opposite direction. He even made up a game in his head so he wouldn't look up at where he was going, though it proved to be unnecessary. As soon as he made it passed a certain number of yards there was a sudden clearing in his head and an explosion of small wildlife sounds he hadn't noticed he couldn't previously hear.

Kirito narrowed his eyes in full on mission mode now; someone or some _thing_ had put up a barrier and probably wouldn't want to be disturbed.

Removing his backpack, he took out his shorter heavier than standard bokken, wishing he'd have his real blades on him, or that he could he even afford a single real blade outside of the semi-decorative one hanging over the fireplace that acted as their home security.

He'd keep his various knives sheathed and hidden for surprise purposes, he'd take the grocery bag for similar reason that on the off chance his opponent was reasonable and sane; he might just pretend to have wandered in by accident if he had to.

Thanking his sister for going through her 'Go Green' phase and giving them all cloth (far less noisy than plastic) grocery bags. He slowed his breathing and _melted_ into the darkness, making his way up the beaten path.

As it was it all proofed unnecessary, because not even a second later the air up ahead was lit up by a bright light and he could just make two silhouettes in the distance. One of the figures, in his school uniform if he wasn't mistaken, fell to the ground while the other broke into mad laughter.

Quickening his pace he circled around just a bit so that he wouldn't be directly in the standing one's, a female, line of sight. Some words were said in a rather arrogant mocking tone... _God_ he hated that tone.

 _Smug eyes, just a stupid kid, can't move,_ _ **disgusting piece of shit**_ _hands touching_ _ **his**_ _love_

Oh yes, that laugh had certainly not endeared him to whoever this assailant was.

It was then that Kirito's sense of reality took a hard battering ram, as everything went sideways and the girl's body-morphed?

Big black feathered wings burst from the girl's-woman's now- back, and a rather risqué outfit appeared on her body.

''What the shit'' Kirito thought aloud, letting the rare curse ( _it's not appropriate Kazuto-nii)_ slip from his tongue.

' _What the hell kind of twisted shounen manga did I just walk into'_ he thought stunned

"Sorry… blame God… power… GOODBYE ISSEI" he saw her rear her hand back in a throwing motion-

He was already running, there was no time for thinking or hesitance, even before the light spear? _**Don't Think, MOVE!**_

Wing girl's hand reared back

Kirito jumped

*WACK!*

"AAAAAAH!" the winged demoness screamed more from shock then from pain, as _30lb_ bokken wacked her from the side catching her temple, which would have clocked in at an impressive 80mph if anyone present cared enough to know.

"WHO THE FU- AAAAH!" he didn't dare let her have moment to breath, rather the moment the first hit made contact he was already spinning, gaining momentum to land a second hit that sent her unprepared body rearing back a solid three feet.

"Are you okay!" he spared to ask the boy he'd taken a protective stance in front of, not taking his eyes off the succubus like creature in front of them.

"K-k-Kirigaya S-s-sempai" the boy choked out, strangely enough he recognized the voice even if he didn't look down to confirm it.

Issei Hyoudo, one of his school's three great perverts, the kid that made sure to tell him every day that 'damn handsomes' like him could go die. Oddly enough he liked the slightly younger boy if only for how upfront he was about his personal dislike rather than spreading rumors; there was also the fact that the boy seemed utterly oblivious to the 'avoid, not right' aura that surrounded him and a select few others, his dislike being purely based on his physique.

He oddly enough reminded him of a shameless version of Kirito's own best friend Klein, a scruffy twenty something gentleman who was blunt as hell, had the face of a thug and the heart of a marshmallow. He'd seen Hyoudo stay after school to help one of the more aged teachers carry things to her car and several other little good deeds, he was a pretty dependable guy- just like Klein.

And he was dying

"Can you stand Hyoudo, can you run out of here and get help?" he asked even if he knew it was a long shot.

"HOW DARE YOU LAY YOUR FILTHY MORTAL HANDS ON ME!" screeched the bird woman

"Actually it was a titanium alloy practice kendo bokken that hit you; my hands I kept to myself" he said in a falsely polite voice, even in a life or death situation able to snark with the best of them "Talk to me Hyoudo."

"I'LL KILL YOU, YOU DISGUSTING MONGREL" it screeched again, rearing its wings and Kirito raised his bokken in a defensive movement to the creatures amusement.

"A HA HA HA, You think a single _mortal_ creation could harm a Fallen Angel like ME. I'M-"

' _No, it's obvious it won't that's why I'm playing up being poor pathetic mortal to make you drop your guard'_ he snarked back in his head, making sure to keep a mask of fear on his face and not betray the utter loathing and disgust he felt for this sick _Fallen Angel_ creature.

Kirito's heart was pounding, his mind was at 200% focus, his breath in possibly an unhealthy contrast to his heart was slow and even. Here, right here, with death literally staring him in the face, and a weapon however shitty in his hands, is when he felt his most alive.

It could be an intoxicating if utterly terrifying feeling; he'd almost missed it in his years of peaceful training, and corporate climbing, and tinkering away in his computer lab, and being all domestic.

Almost

Because Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya has always been a survivor but now; now there's a wounded comrade behind him with superior enemy combatants in front and no reinforcements on the way, now he has parents and a little sister he actually talks to, now he has real friends who could, would, and had walked through fire for him, but most of all.

A small bag of white rice leaned lay busted on the ground near his foot.

Now he had someone to love and to hold waiting for him at home and he _could not die here_.

Brutally trained survivor's instincts churned in his head as the bitch's monologue began to wind down; he analyzed what he had to work with; what did he have, what did his opponent have, what could he risk, what could be left.

"Hyoudo?" he stressed a second time

"I-I'm s-sorry sempai…I c-can't" Kirito grimaced, it wasn't anything he hadn't expected, still it would be an inconvenience.

 _ **Leave him**_ said the dark monster in his head, that let him survive that hell camp, _**cut the weak links, use the foliage to disappear, you can do it, double back to the fountain and wash your scent in case it can track scent, hide the night in a tree, be home with first morning light.**_

Kirito risked a glance at Hyoudo, wounded, dying, slow, so easy to offer as sacrificial meat to this-

' _Thank you for being my friend…Thank you. And goodbye'_

' _NO!'_ he could not, would not leave someone behind, he refused to turn his back on someone who needs him.

"-no. I will you kill you here and now you pathetic little-" the bitch began to form a light spear above her head.

' _NOW'_ , in a move that even the most amateur fighters would call utterly moronic (and thus utterly unexpected) he chucked his bokken and seemingly only weapon at the winged harpy, before ducking low to the ground.

The Fallen Angel, more out of reflex than anything, ducked the suddenly in coming projectile, lowering her closer to the ground.

"What th-" she stopped again as another object made its way to her face, choosing to slice through the second projectile headed her way, before hissing as recently cooked burning hot by her spear micro pieces of white rice hit her in the eye.

That's when Kirito struck

Sprinting at her from the direction of her closed eye he drew his hidden knife and jumped at the lowered Fallen.

Realizing he wasn't going to make the jump as she still had a little too much air, he used his knife to gut into her leg, his weight and the shock of sudden pain bringing her crashing down.

She didn't let go of her spear- he hadn't expected her to, in fact that made it better assuming he could avoid being disemboweled. The wound on her leg he felt was barely an inch thick despite being a 6 inch religiously sharpened blade with all his 170lbs of equally religiously sharpened body thrown behind it.

' _All living creatures fight off what's in front, so…'_ using his falling momentum, he circled behind her tugging the closest piece of rather limited amount of spandexed clothing, pulling her body into his providing a fleshy shield between him and the dangerous spear of pure energy vengefully clenched in her hand, _'attack from behind'_.

"H-how…HOW DARE YOU TOUCH ME IS SUCH A WAY YOU DISGUSTING MONGREL! FILTHY PIG! BEAST!"

If Kirito could he would've rolled his eyes at her apparent "personal modesty" in the middle of battle, especially when she was wearing such little clothing that was- _should_ -be meant for distraction purposes at best. Unfortunately he couldn't do that because the harpy had immediately begun thrashing with so much force he felt his hip bruise and his shoulder bone crack. Her wings were also making it difficult to hold on as she proceeded to thrash his body and make mostly useless attempts to stab him with her spear.

Kirito didn't dare let out a noise of pain lest she realize how weak his human body was in comparison and how easily something as simple as rising a few feet in the air and crashing back down would crush him.

Instead he shamelessly made use of easily exposed clothing and yanked at it, both to hold on and so that the leverage of tough material clothing would cut into certain… parts… of her deeper than his knife had, his knife that could only go 1 inch into her skin. Though 1 inch was more than enough for the target he'd chosen.

"Sorry, you're attractive and all" he grunted out against the beast's, cause thinking of her as a woman was neither quite accurate nor helpful to his present killer mindset, hoping any little thing would take it's attention and distract it "but I'm not interested in one eyed crow bitches."

"Wha-'

Now in position Kirito flipped a second knife he kept in his sleeve into his other hand and stabbed down; there was a split second of shocked silence when the creature's body jerked and went still and warm fluid ran down Kirito's hand.

' _All creatures who use sight value its loss most of all, and will let their guard down to protect it'_

The creature _shrieked_

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! MY EYE, MY EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYE!" it's free hand went to clutch it's eye, while the hand clutching the spear loosened, and it was then Kirito struck again.

Using a jujitsu move he had learned because Argo swore up and down he needed to learn a way to protect his "danger-seeking" self now that he couldn't carry his blade everywhere he went, Kirito wrapped his legs around her middle and his arms around the spear arm. A simple application of leverage and he maneuvered her ordinarily stronger muscled arm down…

*PLSSHT*

Light spear stabbed through skin, meat, and bone like a hot blade through particularly fleshy butter.

Jujitsu was all about using an opponent's strength against them; even before he knew his chosen weapons were basically useless in landing permanent damage, he knew he had to either take or get rid of her clearly superior weapon.

Kirito let go of the Fallen Angel before it could start thrashing again and break the rest of his bones, even if he'd held on he wouldn't be able to force the spear in any farther as she had dissappated it the moment she'd realized what he'd done.

"Aaaaargh" the creature screamed wings flapping wildly as she crashed and thrashed on the ground clutching stomach and eye alike.

An ordinary man may have felt some measure of pity for the dying creature, her very human like appearance alone would have encouraged some measure of mercy for the pained being.

Kirito wasn't that man, and if he could he'd finish it off while it was weak and didn't have the chance to hurt any of his at a later date; Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya did not let wounded pray get away, **ever**.

( _Battle over, his love safe, traitor Laughing Coffin-scum striking at his love's turned back,_ _ **"murderer"**_ _)_

Except now, because he literally had nothing that could land a finishing blow; he still had wounded allies that needed immediate medical attention and he wasn't doing so hot himself. Not wasting time doing something needlessly edgy like examining his work, he turned and sprinted with what energy he had left towards Hyoudo and freedom.

Hyoudo, bless his heart, seemed to realize his uselessness and found the incredible strength to stand even clutching his stomach and using his discarded bokken as a crutch. Not wasting precious time explaining the situation to the fool boy who'd picked up his bokken and probably meant to help, he grabbed Hyoudo by the arm and hobble sprinted back through the park.

"Run", Hyoudo didn't need to be told twice

The boundary line, they had to make it to the boundary line, even the creature did not want to deal with authorities. A call to the police to get them on the way, or even just a horde of passersby, anybody would do; he could feel the blood from Hyoudo's wound spilling on them both, still he ran on.

"RAAAAAAAGH" there was an animalistic roar of rage from behind them followed by thunderous flapping sound and a light enveloped the area, and Kirito felt what hope of them making it out alive sink like a stone.

Next to him Hyoudo had obviously come to the same conclusion if his sudden heavy breathing was anything to go by and wasn't just him dying and being severely out of shape. Up ahead he spotted the boundary line and on the other side oblivious to the mad desperate dash, to what was possibly the first bit of good luck to hit, a policeman armed and doing some kind of patrol for couples getting busy in the park at night.

"Hey!" Hyoudo called seeing him and unaware the man couldn't hear them, "Hel-"

*BOOOM*

An explosion hit behind them so close Kirito could feel the heat on the back of his neck of the spear that had no doubt just missed them. As it lucked out again the explosion managed to richochet them forward. Which is where their luck ended.

Rocks tore into his back, and there was a sickening noise like a water balloon popping and he saw Hyoudo's stomach wound explode red as they were crashing in the air. When Kirito landed there was a crunch as his hand folded under his body and he already knew without the numb fire spreading through his hand that it was broken.

' _Damn, now I can't even try to defend myself'_ he glanced over to Hyoudo and saw the crazy S.O.B actually trying to stand, did he not understand when to give up? Didn't matter, it served its purpose and Kirito dug into his center and crawled to a manageable position. Looking around he saw the cop still in the area, sitting in face on that thrice damn statue and just out of range.

' _Irony you be a cruel mistress, My Lady'_

A flapping sound drew his eye- _eye? Why could he only feel his left, did he wound the right?-_ to the significantly less sexy bird woman devil angel harpy creature in the sky.

She stared down at the two of them, wings flapping, with a look of pure unadulterated _hate_. Any snark he could have made would have been useless as she was clearly far passed being distracted into verbal spar and is in a wordless rage just staring at them. Her right eye still had the knife stuck in it- like his disturbingly unresponsive right eye.

' _Oh Lady Irony, I thank your presence for these last minute chuckles of my life'_

' _ **Look closer'**_ _,_ the deadly pragmatic survivor voice in his head overrides the morbid humor, _ **she's weak, holding her wound, she won't attack again till she builds up strength'**_ his lone responsive eye swivels to the recent explosion site, _**'her eye is messing with her depth perception, she should have killed you both',**_ his eye swivels again to his final companion, _ **'her main target is still the boy, he's not going to make it anyway-no medicine in the world could patch that up, leave him, you have people to live for-**_

A vision hits his head,

 _Klein, his first best friend, his scruffy face trying in vain to flirt with his love's best friend_

 _His sister Sugu, face lighting up as he grabs his bokken and spars with her for the first time in years_

 _Agiel, big and strong, slipping him a beer at his bar because sometimes even the strongest need a little extra at the end of the day._

 _His love in the kitchen humming to herself in a moment of true peace neither truly thought they'd live to see, his love threatening him with a bread knife of all things because he's said something morbid again, his love's face scrunched up, her head thrown back in a moan, looks up at him and says-_

' _No'_ , he shakes his head clear of the monster once more; he will not use his loved ones as an excuse to abandon someone else to a death they have no hope of surviving from, he wouldn't be able to look them in the eye ever again knowing he'd used their memory to justify the monster inside.

' _ **You have promises to keep'**_ that dark part of him tries one more time

 _Another image, a little girl programmed to have his dark hair and eyes, and nose if his love is to be believed, and his love's everything else. His snark, his love's laugh, his habit of naps. "Papa?"_

But Kirito merely ignore the vision, his heart breaking, _'I'm sorry Yui"_

"Hey Hy- no, Issei, I think we've been through enough to use first names" he asks turning his head to the average looking boy trying not to bleed out and is staring at him like he's crazy.

Heh, he probably is

"You're going to be alright Issei" he says in a reassuring voice with a smile to those eyes whose desperately staring at him for some kind of plan, "There's a barrier around us keeping all outside attention away" as he says it Issei's eyes widen and he looks panicking to where the cop is standing ignoring all else, and Kirito sees defeat clutching him.

"Listen to me Issei-" a great light in the sky is accompanied by another animalistic roar, "Ignore her" he continues in a remarkably steady voice when it looks like he might lose the boy.

"My phone has already called authorities" lie "that cop has back-up coming whether he knows it or not, your job is to get him to not be a hero, run in the _other_ direction, it should be easy to convince him with your injuries, do _not_ comeback without that back up, hear me? Otherwise it'll be a massacre."

Issei nods grabbing on to the plan like, well like what he is, a dying man ignoring the clear holes.

"What about you?"

And Kirito would smile if there was time for even that much,

' _Stupid boy'_

' _ **So are you'**_

instead he uses the precious milliseconds that could be used arranging his face to perform a round house kick he really shouldn't have the strength to do, and sends Issei flying across the barrier a good 15 yards away, but such was the power of adrenaline.

Not even a second later a light spear tears through muscle and bone like a hot knife through fleshy butter.

Kirito falls and, yeah it really is as painful as he thought, damn, when human beings finally get lightsabers war is gonna suck ass.

Mercifully the world starts fading quickly, he doesn't know if Issei made it, _doubtful_ , if even that cop made it away from the harpy's rage, _possibly_.

…

… _oh damn, he forgot the tempura scraps… Asuna's gonna be pissed… I ruined… our dinner… pla_

 _.._

 _._

 _._

 _._

" _What do you think Akeno, should I revive such a brave young trooper, he did save our precious pawn after all"_

" _It's your call Buchou, he doesn't have any Sacred Gear, and you don't have any pawns left"_

" _No hospital around could save him in time"_

" _If you really want my opinion, he's clearly resourceful, disciplined, and well trained. We could use someone like that, and with the deadline…"_

"… _I see, thank you for your insight Akeno"_

" _Fufufu, you already knew what you were going to do Buchou; you merely wanted me to agree with your rash decision"_

"… _You're not funny"_

" _Fufufu, you have no time to be embarrassed Buchou, he's fading fast"_

" _Tch, very well,_ _ **Kazuto Kirigaya, I command you rise from your grave as my servant, live for my sake as my eternal Rook.**_ _Welcome to the club my young soilder."_

 _._

 _._

"Huuuuu, COUGHCOUGHCOUGH huuuu, As- huuu, A-asuna"

And in the backroom of a school clubhouse, Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya lives.

.

.

.

 **Part One End**


	2. Chapter 2 Enslaved

Chapter 2 Enslavement

 _'Scars are not meant to be attractive',_ Akeno thought staring at the figure in front of her.

They were often crude shaped things tearing across what was once beautiful unblemished flesh.

Kuoh's Dark Prince as always seems to be the exception to the rule.

Their King ,Rias, was the only one currently in their little peerage with any _real_ skill in the healing arts. It was a serious hole in their repitouire of skills; the rest of them were more experienced in taking bodies _apart_ rather than putting them back together.

Akeno herself was especially well versed in ... dismantling ... _slowly_ ( _OH GOD PLEASE STOP, KILL ME, DEMON DEMON!)_

 _'_ _Fufufu, oh yes it takes years of practice to be able to attain that level of precision'_

Between a particularly innovative teenager and a pawn with a powerful Sacred Gear, possibly draconic in nature if Koneko's sense of smell was reliable and it usually was ( _chocolate. On breathe._ _ **Share**_ ), her choice in who to concentrate her attentions to was obvious.

As a result of this, she and Koneko had been forced put together a healing duct tape and glue version for their newest little Rook, until Rias recovered enough strength to seal up any serious cracks left.

The wounds themselves were indeed healed but the scars, unlike Hyoudo's, would remain for life, or until they could find a far better healer than Rias.

The jagged line cutting across his right eye was the most visible and attention grabbing. It should be an ugly thing, distracting and the worst of conversation killers, as individuals tried not to stare at it.

However, in some odd contrast it made his ordinarily pretty and rather feminine face a more handsome masculine appeal, he was attractive because of the scar not in spite of it, and it helped cement his image as Kuoh's black prince.

Though Akeno was personally more interested in the scar across his chest, spreading from dead center to his lower right side of his abdomen, horribly jagged, the burns were more expansive than an ordinary hit from a light spear. The fallen who attacked him was obviously enraged… and impaired since she missed his heart by a long shot.

 _'_ _The shear pain it must have caused, it must have been excruciating!_ ' Akeno blushed at the thought, _'_ _Burning, tearing, did he scream, what was the face he made, was there blood or was the light spear too hot and the wound cauterized on impact?'_

"Himejima?" a low voice broke her out of her…musings

"Yes…um, I mean yes Kirigaya?" how embarrassing, she'd have to save the memory of his pain for later… contemplation

"I believe you were going to tell me why you have me naked in what looks like the backroom of a classroom." He inquired almost pleasantly, his voice sounding more sleepy than the terrified one would expect when waking up in a strange place with a virtual stranger injured.

In fact Kirigaya had been almost alarming calm for the entirety of this little situation, from the moment he'd walked through the barrier Rias had set up in the park with his grocery bag in hand, to his handling of the Fallen, to him appearing in the little kitchenette (sneaking up on her supernatural senses at that) and politely inquiring if she had seen a pair of missing clothes.

She'd dropped the tea she had been preparing for today's meeting and ushered him back to where they had been keeping his comatose body, and began giving him a check up all the while Kirigaya remained calm asking her questions in return of her own.

His questions had been no more troubled than his general demeanor; where was his phone, wallet, clothes, did she happen to pick up his groceries, what time was it and so on.

 _'_ _Does he think it was all a dream, rather what does our little princeling get up to usually to not even be alarmed about his current situation?'_

"Ara, are you not even the least bit troubled to be waking up in a strange place unclothed?" she asked curiously with an oblivious smile on her face, but to her least bit of surprise, he merely stared back with tiredly amused eyes.

"I think I'm in shock" he responded, though his tone was dry, "The last thing I remember is getting stabbed by a harpy with a leather fetish before waking up mostly healed to a young woman making tea."

Akeno covered a snort at his description of the Fallen, _'_ _Harpy indeed'_

"I doubt from that much that I was kidnapped,, but if I was I rather not annoy my kidnappers by panicking and asking useless questions they're not likely to answer anyway… especially not in my… defenseless… state."

She blinked before giving an amused smile

"Did anyone ever tell you you have a very skewed sense of logic Kirigaya?"

"Plenty of times" he shrugged nonchalantly, "I once nearly stabbed myself in the hand with a suspected murder sword to prove it wouldn't kill me."

Somehow that didn't even surprise her in line with all the other little mysteries that had been adding up since she and Rias had found the dying teenager in the park the other day.

How did he fight and even critically injure a Fallen, several times stronger and experienced than any mere human? Why did he have four ( five if you count the multipurpose pocket tool) knives strapped to various parts of his body(all nonmagical, Kiba had ascertained, so the possibility of him being a rogue exorcist or other devil/monster hunter was thrown out)?

They'd looked up his personal information to see if they could drop him off when he was healed and maybe give his parents an excuse for his late night out if they couldn't heal him before the night was up- which is what happened.

Only come to find his parents' address was two hours away by train; unless he was pulling the cash to make such a trip every morning and evening just to attend this school, he clearly wasn't staying with his parents. Probably. She knew Issei certainly would do it to see his precious oppai if he had the money.

She doubted that was the answer, especially seeing how comfortable he was naked in front of a virtual stranger and as how when she leaned over to check his new scars he hadn't so much as glanced at her pronounced chest. He looked her directly in the eyes the entire conversation and not in a 'I'm desperately trying not to look anywhere else' way.

They called his mother anyway just to let him know he'd be staying over the school that night, they hadn't even needed to argue their fairly lackluster excuse.

 _Oh a school project, I'm glad Kazuto is getting involved. With all his friends so spread out, I was getting worried he'd go back into his old shell. Thank you for looking after my son._

And that was it, apparently Kirigaya was used to a fairly large amount of independence, his mother sounded almost surprised that they'd bothered to inform her at all.

 _Are you sure you shouldn't be calling-, oh I suppose the school wouldn't have the number, I'll have to tell…_

Who she had to tell, presumably whoever he was staying with now, was trailed off. The woman much like her son didn't even bother to acknowledge insinuated questions, blatantly ignoring the obvious fact that she had illegally listed her son's address as hers in his transcripts.

"We called your parents and told them you volunteered to stay the night for a school project" She said finally handing him his sewed and magically cleaned (though still slightly pink stained) clothes. "They'll inform your current hosts of where you are."

As expected he didn't respond other than the slightest nod of the head before narrowing his eyes minutely and subtly testing the weight of the cloth.

"Your knives are on the table in the club house, you certainly have quite the selection of weaponry on your person." She stated, finally deciding that he was the type to ignore anything more subtle than someone flat out shoving something into his face.

Though whether it was to his credit or not, his general obliviousness seemed mostly genuine; she felt pity for the girls around school trying to gain his attention, they thought he was being cool and distant, he was really just oblivious.

"Healthy paranoia" he said in a dry almost sarcastic form of cheer that she was suspected was his usual tone

"Can any paranoia really be called healthy?" she asked with a raised eyebrow

"I was attacked by a bird monster on a walk from the grocery store" he shot back

' _Touché, Fufufu a snarky one'_

"We kept you here the past two days to heal, we're about to give a full explanation of events to the other victim of her attack in an hour, but since you're up I'm sure Kiba can take him out of class now."

She'd have to tell Rias to speed up her schedule; her King liked to play games and had held off taking a shower specifically to have the chance to distract two young hormonal boys with the club shower.

 _'_ _I also need to tell her she might have to be little more careful around Kirigaya, he doesn't seem the type to get distracted by sins of the flesh'_ Akeno thought remembering the boy's lack of attention to her own form.

"Issei?" Kirigaya questioned with a surprised look on his face, she hadn't known the two were on a first name bases, "So he's alive too?"

"And thoroughly traumatized" she let out a blissful sigh remembering the panicked face he'd been wearing all yesterday going around questioning if anyone remembered "Yuma" and if anybody had seen Kazuto-sempai.

She remembered the beating he'd taken from the girls for _daring_ to refer to one of their princes by first name.

Kirigaya sighed and a tension she hadn't even been aware was in his stance relaxed; he was very good at disguising his inner thoughts.

 _It would be that mere mention of their newest pawn that would alert her later of how to spot the nearly unnoticeable change in his demeanor, it was that one passive comment that would alert her to when something was wrong later, one reaction to one throwaway statement would save them from him in the weeks to come._

"C'mon" she said turning her back to the newly relaxed Kirigaya, "Let's go introduce you to our king."

"…to our what?"

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 _'_ _Two years'_

Kirito paced up the street quickly, headed in no particular direction but knowing he had to get away from the school before he did something… regrettable.

 _'_ _OVER two years, I gave of my life to that mad man'_ Kirito fumed making a detour to the local park, as he continued to pace fist clenched, barely keeping a snarl of rage inside," and now this red haired little _TART-"_

 _"_ _I resurrected the two of you as members of my peerage, everyone in this room including the two of you are devils."_

 _With a dramatic flair, the four members of the Occult Research Club, let black bat like wings flourish from their backs._

 _Beside him Issei let out enough noise of surprise that Kirito's own deathly silence had been covered; this wasn't the first time he'd had his entire world ripped out from beneath him without notice, and by the third time with Sachi he'd begun to recognize the signs early._

 _A trap was coming, he'd suspected since he'd awoken to find himself alive in the first place, but the real alarm hadn't been sounded until he'd heard Himejima utter those fateful words. He'd noticed Gremory's sudden need to take a shower in visible sight, the sly looks traded between the two females, and Himejima's careful positioning as Issei_ _entered the room._

 _"_ _Um, ah I don't understand, how?" Issei questioned_

 _'_ _Yes how, tell me how I got into this mess'_

"And isn't that just fuc- ,freaki-, no fuck it I'm cursing!, How FUCKING CONVIENENT that she just HAPPENED to have given Issei a magic summoning flyer THE EXACT DAY he was attacked by that Fallen for… oh yeah why was that, REASONS." Kirito _seethed_ , he hated people that acted like saviors you should feel indebted to even as they took away your choices- _your freedom_.

It was the only the memory of being brutally murdered by the last supernatural that he'd encountered that made him hold his tongue about all the constant inconsistencies that he was finding in Gremory's story.

Again he had been thankful that Issei was such an expressive person, his own reactions were largely ignored in favor of the dramatics of his Kohai. Only once did he break his silence.

 _Steadily he'd raised his arm like asking a question in class, deliberately reminding himself of his own snarky response to Himejima not an hour earlier about not irritating his kidnappers by showing any panic…or in this case anger._

 _"_ _You said we are your servants Gremory-san" Kirito asked in a slow tone as he got their attention, interrupting Issei's declaration of becoming 'The Harem King', "Not that I'm not grateful you decided to bring me back with Issei nor am I unwilling to repay what I owe, but could you clarify how long this servitude lasts."_

 _There was a brief pause as everyone including Issei stared at him,_

 _"_ _Uh didn't you hear the part about getting a harem Kazuto-sempai!?" Issei burst obviously trying to stop him from making a 'mistake' and throwing away this 'opportunity'._

 _"_ _I heard Issei" he said dryly cutting his eyes at the pervert boy_

 _'_ _ **Focus on the fool'**_ _, the monster inside whispered,_ _ **'**_ _ **Don't let the anger out, joke, stay relaxed just a little longer'**_

 _"_ _But I have a part time job and some hobbies outside of school" he continued letting his eyes fall back on the oh so sly little demoness that had just smilingly claimed him as property, "So how long do you need me, or is there some type of hourly sheet that I can knock out on my own time?"_

 _There was another silence as Issei and him both turned to the Red haired girl_

 _"_ _Idiot" said the white haired child on the couch munching on snacks_

 _"_ _Ara, ara Koneko be nice" Himejima said with a small laugh even as Kirito's eyebrow twitched, he usually loved kids (Papa!) and younger ones, but he really wasn't in the mood today._

 _"_ _It's natural for people not a part of the supernatural world to cling to some kind of normalcy" Himejima continued, though a desperation to hold onto" normalcy"_ _was far from the reason why he asked._

 _He'd never been slow on the uptake and had already suspected this wasn't a temporary deal the moment the word 'devil' had been used, even someone who didn't spend a shameful amount of time looking up various mythologies as him for gaming would be weary at the name of that particular species._

 _"_ _You, Kiba, and Gaspar's changing don't count; you were already apart of this world in some way or form."_

 _"_ _I'm afraid Kirigaya that upon being resurrected, you became a devil for life; the only way you'd survive is being bonded to me." The red head explained in what might have been a sympathetic tone, but Kirito's sense_ _of such nuances had disappeared in a white hot rage._

 _"_ _So we're slaves" he asked darkly, and there was an immediate tension that entered the room, Kirito kept himself perfectly still, waiting, watching._

 _Gremory met his gaze evenly, "Yes, to most of the underworld and devil kind you are little more than my property."_

 _Kirito had never really believed in things like killing intent despite having seen the business end of a blade pointed at his face far too many times to count. Instinct to pick up on something dangerous in nature yes, but he was a very analytical thinker at heart and such phenomena sounded to fantastical to be real._

 _The cold silence that followed in his barely contained rage said otherwise._

 _"_ _It's not like how you're thinking Kirigaya" Kirito didn't even turn to face Yuuto who had been the one to speak, not breaking his stare from Gremory._

 _"_ _Bunchou is very courteous to us, and never imposes her will on us"_

"Because that makes the fact that I'm still a slave all the better, at least my master won't use the whip as often as the other masters would" Kirito mumbled darkly, feeling sick as the rage refused to be abated even in the cool outside air.

He stopped in his pacing and gave a bitter smile as he saw he was in front of that quadruple damned statue that started this whole mess.

"And tell me Kiba, what happens if I refuse to follow orders?" he asked the statue, it wasn't a question he'd asked out right, but they had mentioned Strays when Issei had told the story of how he was attacked by another fallen while Kirito was still in his mini coma and it didn't take a genius to figure out how one became a Stray. All Strays had kill on sight orders from each faction no matter who they were or what they were doing.

"You get to live for an eternity indulging in sin, power and riches beyond your wildest dreams, anything your heart desires is in reach with just a bit of work, with only one small catch. Obey me, live for me, fight for me… or die" he continued his dark musings

 _'_ _Never mind that I know life is meant to be short and never craved eternity, that I have no need for power, or riches, or women, or any other carnal pleasures.'_ He thought bitterly, ' _Never mind that I fought for two and a half years to remove such chains from around me, that I've already experienced a gorgeous gilded cage and prefer the dirty grimy air of freedom'_

 _'_ _No matter how kind a slave is treated, they are still a slave'_ he thought looking up at the sky, _'_ _ **I'm**_ _a slave'_

"I can't even take the people I love the most with me to this new hell, I'd rather they'd left me for de-"

 ** _'_** ** _NO!'_** his pragmatic self screamed at the overemotional part that had gotten him into so much trouble during the Aincrad campaign, ' ** _NEVER STO FIGHTING , NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER FORGET'_**.

He was once again reminded that as much as he didn't like that side of himself, it was there for a very important reason.

 _Klein laying in the snow, tears streaming down his face, begging him not to give up during the darkest holiday of his life_

 _Liz holding his hand by the campfire as they reminisced about all the people they'd lost_

 _His love, back when they were little more than strangers, yelling at him not to take the hatred of so many people by himself, his love grabbing his arm and stopping him from stabbing Grimlock's sword down on his own arm with his then usual utter disregard for consequences the action would have on his life, his love grabbing him by the collar on a porch when he'd mentioned something morbid about whether or not they'd make it out of this beautiful hell hole_

Yes, he couldn't afford to have thoughts like this; he couldn't fall victim to despair, he needed a plan, he needed hope,… he needed his love.

" **Where the hell have you been!** " said the lovely pissed tones of an angel, "Your mother called me to tell me you had a school project, which is complete BULL by the way! Why didn't you come home, do you know how close I was to storming that-"

"Asuna" he cut her off dead serious, he had no need to raise his voice, they knew each other to well by now to know when things just got serious. "We have a problem."

"Explain" she said going into her commander mode with zero hesitation, Kirito gave a slight nostalgic smile before telling everything that had happened since he'd last talked to her.

He was careful to give as much detail as possible, nothing was insignificant; all the while she stayed silent only asking for the occasional clarification of a term, his exact position when he did this, did the Fallen's wings flap or just levitate, what was Himejima doing in the back while Gremory was speaking.

He was amazed as always at what she managed to pick up that he missed; he supposed that was the difference between a commander who led and a soldier who survived.

"Alright" she said after a pause in which she spent absorbing the information, "We need more Intel and to regroup with the others… here's what you do."

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 _'_ _Well that could have gone a little better'_ Rias thought to herself, _'_ _though in hindsight that was probably the ordinary reaction to such news, not everybody could be Issei'_

Rias sat in her office going over some papers that she needed to read and sign for the day to day machinations of the supernatural sector in Kuoh. Her peerage had broken up to fulfill their typical weekday requests, and Issei was testing the physical limits of a bicycle as he tried to make it to a request on the other side of town.

She supposed she might have been a bit spoiled in how willingly her other peerage members had given her their loyalty almost immediately after their resurrection, though considering the status she found them all in…

 _Akeno, angry, heartbroken and distrustful as she pledged herself to the creature her ancestors hated above all others, eager to get away from her "tainted" blood_

 _Kiba, weary and malnourished, but eyes brimming with the hatred of betrayal, bowing to the one that promised him his vengeance_

 _Koneko, so broken and empty, reaching for the first hand that promised safety_

 _Little Gaspar alone and afraid, wary of her kindness, but so terribly lonely and sick of being alone, taking the first brave step to trusting someone else_

Even Issei had been an easy to acquire, the boy was a slave to his carnal desires that all it had taken was showing a bit of skin and he'd pledged himself for life. Though in fairness to Issei, he'd yet to come to terms to what had happened to him and was choosing to ignore the implications in his shock.

 _'_ _Anyone who could outsmart an attention barrier, and critically injure a creature 10x his strength and 100x his experience could not be expected to simply roll over and weep at her feet in praise'_ she thought criticizing herself.

 _"_ _So we're slaves" he asked, there was a slight tremor in his voice she could only now guess was fear and anger, as he tried to seem nonchalant._

 _"_ _Yes" had been her brutal unsympathetic answer, hoping ripping off the band aid would be the better solution, Akeno told her he was the type to take things in stride after all._

 _She'd also told her he wasn't the type to sit and be intimidated_

Something she'd only remembered a moment later when he… well e hadn't stormed out as one might expect so much as gone so still and silent it _unnerved_ them, and the way he _watched_ them

 _Black eyes, careful, analyzing, seeing how far he could get if he had to make a break for it then and there_

 _How many he'd have to cut down on his way out_

It was the look, which said he was measuring her, that made her let him go outside to clear his head for a bit. Yes she had taken him because she needed a solider to fight for her, because she was desperate and hadn't particularly cared for the circumstances of what was, despite his mysteries, an ordinary teenage boy.

What were the personal wishes of one teenager when she was facing an eternity with

 _"_ _Dear dear Rias, don't you know you are MINE to do what I wish?"_

She grit her teeth at the mere thought of that arrogant insufferable peacock, over her dead body

But the ass hat would hold, she had some damage control to do with her newest peerage member, she'd have to find a way to earn his trust; she refused to have any of her servants-

 _'_ _Family'_ she thought, she always thought of them as such, but Kirigaya's reaction was having her censor herself even in her thoughts, _'_ _I refuse to let any of my family have a reason to go Stray, regardless of how they came to me'_

"Stop it" she heard Akeno suddenly next to her and she stifled a jump, "You're always too harsh on yourself, he just needs a little time, they can't all be Issei"

Rias sighed as her Queen placed a mug of tea in front of her; she really was out of it.

"I was in such a rush to get quality pieces I almost forgot the people behind those pieces" Rias explained taking the tea with a grateful nod, "I never want to be looked at like that by those who should be my family."

"Fufufu silly Buchou, we don't resent you for turning us" her Queen laughed, as always seeing through her to her real fears, "We love you… spoiled manipulative ways and all."

Rias pouted, before sipping the truly delicious tea

"Excuse me"

And promptly proceeded to choke on it as the dark haired male she'd just been thinking about appeared in front of her desk like a ghost.

"Are you okay?" looking up she saw the still wary, but concerned look of Kazuto Kirigaya

"Y-cough-Yes I'm fine" she choked out embarrassed, from the corner of her eye she saw Akeno stifle a laugh, even as she shifted out of a slightly defensive stance

 _'_ _So he scared her too, good it's not just me'_

"I wanted to apologize for my reaction" he started, every word measured out like he was carefully laying out brickwork.

"You saved my life, no matter what else, you saved my life… and that's not something I treat lightly" he said, this time sounding far more genuine, and she saw the gratefulness in his eyes, before emotions were once more locked away.

 _'_ _He'd be a terrifying liar'_ Rias thought, _'_ _if not for what he truly believes didn't shine so brightly in his eyes by comparison'_

"Why are you really here", she asked in a disbelieving tone making clear she wasn't just going to swallow whatever half assed answers, "have you miraculously gotten over your fear of being seen a slave?"

"Not being seen as, am a slave" he shot back in a dead tone before sighing, "But I'm not stupid, I need you and I'm assuming you need me for some unfathomable reason that you wasted one of your precious pieces to revive some random teenager"

 _'_ _He saw through even that in just an hour of consciousness, he really is smart'_

She kept her thoughts to herself, and merely stared evenly back

There was another moment of silence before Kirigaya smiled bitterly, and it took her a moment to realize what he was about to do, but it was too late

"Please teach me Gremory-Sama " Kirigaya intoned formally as he began to bow subserviently

"Stop!" the sight of seeing someone so prideful beast who'd stood up to even Fallen angel to protect a random stranger, bowing his head to her in defeat was not pleasing to her in the slightest; certainly not one she sought to be her family.

"There is no need for such displays Kirigaya; you are mine and so it is already my duty to take care of you" she declared in her proud leader voice, from the corner of her eye she could see Akeno's approving look.

Kirigaya looked up warily, and she gave him a teasing smile

"And you can just call me Buchou"

"… Very well Buchou"

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 _Once upon a time Kazuto Kirigaya had been an ordinary if disturbingly intelligent and reclusive dork of a teenager. He had a family that he loved in an incredibly strained way, but loved nonetheless, got good grades, but otherwise diverted his time to playing games and studying computer software._

 _Then one day while playing a relaxing game, he found himself trapped in another reality with thousands of others in a very not relaxing game of death and monsters and betrayal and desperation._

 _Kirito was born on the plains of Aincrad with a simple black blade in hand and a dead wolf decomposing behind him._

 **'** ** _Naïve'_** says the dark voice in his head ( _he can't hear the light side anymore_ ) as he watches the happy group of teenagers enjoying an end of the day snack. They've let him back into the group relatively easily despite his momentary 'freak out' as Issei had taken to calling it.

Apparently any man who'd turn away from having his own personal harem was not right in the head.

There's still some distrust, his reaction has not been totally forgotten even with Issei breaking up any remaining tension like the hammer he is. He's been careful to keep his expression vaguely uncomfortable and to focus his attention on the other new member, they wouldn't trust a total turnaround and his love needed him to keep this bridge from burning before they had more information.

 ** _'_** ** _Skilled but inexperienced to true battle'_** the dark voice points out noticing some of the subtle changes in their various stances, but they lacked that relaxed posture of a veteran, who didn't even need to think about putting up their guard because even at their most relaxed they were always on guard.

 ** _'_** ** _Be wary of Himejima'_** he thought noting the girl's eyes on him the most even as he smiled at Issei's antics, **_'_** ** _She's seen the most of me, and is reasonably more intelligent than her heiress master; a blade in the dark, cleaning up her master's messes from the shadows'_**

 _Kirito had been the one of the most hated player in this death game, second only to the leader of the Murderers Guild Laughing Coffin, POH._

 _Those who were only kinda close to him assumed it was because of that day the players of Aincrad had defeated its first major monster or 'Boss'; when that dumbass Kibaou had raised up an angry mob against people like Kirito. Kirito, to keep the peace, decided to separate himself from the others as some kind of ultimate bastard and make himself the focal point of that hate, a scapegoat, The Beater._

 _But as his closer friends, who just so happened to be the more intelligent and stronger than the average player, knew there was no way that he could stay one of the most hated after one singular event that happened years ago witnessed by a scant thirty people or so. Certainly not in a reality thriving with liars, thieves, killers, wild beasts and of course the real monsters like POH, Jonny Black, Kurdeel, and Grimlock running around._

 _No Kirito was as hated as he was not for one mere isolated event, but because he was a survivor_

"Thank you for the tea Himejima, while my old lady is the best cook I've ever known, your tea is divine" Kirito said with a polite smile

"Fufufu, considering what I am, I don't know whether that's a compliment or an insult Kazuto-kun" she said in a sly tone using his first name affectionately without permission.

He didn't react to it other than with a sheepish smile before mildly surprising the others with some snarky retort or other considering the overly polite if distant regard he gave the rest of them.

 ** _'_** ** _Do not show your guard around her, your more familiar with her, it's natural to be more relaxed around her. If she believes she has your trust you can gain hers_**

Though he could honestly say he'd never killed someone that wasn't A) already a murderer and B) hadn't already been in the process of trying to kill him; he could say he had indirectly led to the death of countless others.

 _He took precious supplies, he ignored the pleas of others if he felt something was beyond his capabilities, he stepped over (though not exactly on) the weak._

 _His closest friends would say that he had a good heart, a disturbingly pragmatic mind, but a good heart nonetheless._

 _Kirito knew the truth_

"Now now Akeno don't tease our newest members too much" the red haired tart said in the same benevolent voice she'd used since he'd first met her.

 ** _'_** ** _Arrogant'_** he categorized unemotionally, **_'_** ** _Intelligent and hardworking true, but it is the intelligence of one who has seen the world from a book, the hard work of someone who merely wants for things, not someone who desperately hungers for and claws after what she desires'_**

It wasn't hard to tell, the way she spoke could be called pretentious by one being brutally honest or childish by someone being biased; he went for the brutally honest descriptor not willing to take chances with his own arrogance Kirito never underestimated anyone, **ever**. He'd paid for that before _(A blade coming for him, the sickening certainty of knowing he was dead and then his love moving against all odds between him and oncoming death)_.

"Thank you… Buchou" he said in a quieter but not hostile tone, and watched as the prideful girl straightened just that much more, already excepting the intangible challenge of "gaining his trust". ' ** _Pride blinds people, you have experience with that kind of Ojou, use her pride against her; she's in some desperate hurry for loyal pieces and won't be as careful to keep out someone at least willing to be captured by her. Be kind, be courteous, but never forget she made you a slave there's NO need for mercy with this one._**

 _And the terrible truth known to only his love and maybe Klein was that he was a damn snake. A snake that didn't have the heart to take the coldness of his mind; his random good deeds were not because of some inner saint, but to escape the constant crippling guilt of his other actions._

Over in the corner of the room Issei raged at Kiba, presumably for the crime of being handsome, his loud theatrics once again making him the center of attention in the little group. He felt the cool gaze of the king's shadow finally leave him and watch the pawn curiously.

 ** _'_** ** _The fool will be the smokes screen, a few whispered words here and there to his obviously easily manipulated head will fan his flames and hide the monster. He owes you that much at least, besides looking at him over there, you can't safe a fool that doesn't want to be saved'_**

 _He's just killed three people from a murderer's guild and needs to lay low more than usual, a group of newbies just starting their journey catches his eye, just skilled enough to survive but not progress, they'll do. He grows attached to the girl and comforts her, her safety becomes a personal redemption for him to quiet the guilt. Even as they all die around him he can't bring himself to show his true skill in front of them, not even to safe their lives._

"Hm, I didn't know you were so obsessed with how attractive I am Hyoudo, but I'm afraid I must tell you I don't really swing that way." The swordsman teased with a pretty smile as the pawn raged

 ** _'_** ** _The stance says swordsman, he could be useable, that smile is disgustingly empty; get close to him and find what was promised to him and drive a nail into it.'_**

 _He hears a rumor for a rare material on icy mountains that can be used to craft an excellent blade, no one sane will make that climb to that monster pit and he needs a blacksmith to get it; the brown haired girl that he's kinda sorta friends with and may feel something more for has a friend whose a blacksmith. He pumps her for information about this friend and when he finally meets her its like he's known her for years, knows her so well it only takes a single conversation and some theatrics before she's risking her life to get this material with him._

"Idiot" said the little white haired girl, Koneko, as she continued to munch on her snacks

 ** _'_** ** _Be wary of this one as well, she has trust issues and will ignore everything you present as evidence of trustworthiness until her own timetable says she's known you long enough. But she's not as observant or even passably guarded, take her down first if need be._**

 _A man spends three days wandering the front lines with tears in his eyes begging for someone strong enough to help get justice for his friends, ambushed and killed. He watches in silence with all the others before a nightmare of him ignoring the screams of others in that exact situation drives him to investigate. The man thanks him with sobs of relief and anguish… he uses a little girl he finds lost and alone as bait to lure the bandits out._

"Well" Kirito said standing up and once again gaining the attention of the room, he put on a slightly uncomfortable smile, "As…fun… as this all was, it's getting late and I really should be getting home."

It wasn't but he wasn't supposed to be all that comfortable in their presence

"I'll see you later?" he asked with more of a questioning tone towards Tart-chan, who gave him a benevolent nod.

"Report back here tomorrow after school though please, there's still much to go over."

He nodded before turning and exiting without another word, he had no intention of coming back to hear her little welcome to the Underworld speech, after all-

 _"_ _Please teach me Gremory-sama" he intoned with a formal bow, the suddenness of the movement hiding where he'd stuck a USB into her tablet._

 _"_ _STOP" his new 'master' yelled and he straightened slowly, collecting the small electronic device_

 _He asked for his book bag before leaving the office to the sitting room, as expected the more observant of subservient of the two went to complete the menial task of collecting his bag; several important looking documents disappeared from the desk before she came back_

…he already had everything he needed

 ** _And the monster smiled_**

 ** _._**

 ** _._**

 ** _._**

 **End of Part Two**


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